Bomin wandered around, being alone for the first time in a long time. Daeyeol and Sungyeol had gone to get new clothes and Youngtaek was back at their hotel sleeping. They were currently somewhere in the Oklahoma, as Daeyeol had to stop here to check on something.

"Hey fox," came a voice, causing Bomin to turn around and spot Yunho and Gunmin walking over. "Long time no see dog," Bomin said, an amused smirk appearing on his face. "Oi," said Yunho as he scowled, before shaking his head in amusement as he chuckled, dropping the scowl for a slight upturn of his lips.

"Everyone's been looking for you, you know," said Bomin as he walked with Yunho and Gunmin. "I know," said Yunho. "This place is pretty much unexplored territory, the no man's land of the north and the south," he said. "I feel like being here would be best instead of dealing with whatever's up north," he said.

"What are you going to do?" Asked Bomin. "I don't know," Yunho said, sighing as he turned his head to look at Bomin who was walking to his left. "It's a hard decision to be honest," he said. "I know one thing, Hongjoong, Jongho and Wooyoung aren't staying," he added. "MK is waiting on my decision before he makes one, and Hyojin isn't forcing his side to stay if they want to leave," he said.

"And Gunmin is with you and your decision no matter what at this point," said Bomin. "Pretty much," hummed Yunho as he paused, causing Bomin and Gunmin to stop walking.

"What's up?" Asked Bomin. "I'm getting messages again," said Yunho as he checked his phone. "I can't reply though, but," he added, shrugging.

"You should head to ia," said Bomin. "It'll let the others stop worrying about you," he added. "Xion has been asking for me a lot," hummed Yunho as he looked to be in thought.

"You should head over," said Bomin. "At least to let them know you're alive," he added. "You're a part of their team, even if you lead your own," he said.

"No need," came a voice, causing everyone to turn to see Hwanhee walking over. "I figured you were out this way," said Hwanhee as he stopped in front of Yunho. "They aren't worried to be honest," he said. "But I'll let them know you're alive," he added.

"Gunmin was their concern really," said Hwanhee as he looked at said person. "Xion asked for you because Gunhak was wondering what was going to happen to him," he said. Gunmin blinked in surprise. "I guess they still care about you," said Yunho as he turned to Gunmin.

"They had a long discussion about what happened between you and Keonhee," said Hwanhee. "There was even a shouting match between Gunhak and Youngjo, Youngjo wanting to have you back and Gunhak steadfastly refusing," he said.

"It came down to a pack decision," said Yunho. Hwanhee nodded. "Xion and Hwanwoong agreed to take you back, and Dongmyeong was fine with it, as long as Gunmin didn't do anything stupid," he said. "So Gunhak eventually caved, you're free to head back whenever," he said. Gunmin turned to Yunho, who hummed.

"I'll head over whenever I make my final decision," said Yunho. "Hongjoong and the others have already left, but Byungchan said he wasn't forcing me to stay," he said. "Gunmin can't really stay away from me for long, due to our contract and us being mates," he said. "So if he returns I'm going with him," he said. Hwanhee nodded.
 

~

Daeyeol sighed as he sat down on a bench, watching cars drive by. "It must be nice to not be able to answer text messages for once," said Sungyeol as he sat beside Daeyeol. "It doesn't mean we don't get them however," grumbled Daeyeol as he checked his phone to look at more messages coming through.

"I wonder how Bomin's doing," said Sungyeol. "He's somewhere," said Daeyeol as he looked at the ring on his finger. "Can that even come off?" Asked Sungyeol as he looked at the ring. "No," said Daeyeol as he dropped his hand in his lap. "I'm sure the bracelet on your wrist can't be removed either," he added as he put the phone back into his bag, zipping it up.

"Is Youngtaek still sleeping?" Asked Sungyeol as he turned to Daeyeol. "I don't know, why?" Asked Daeyeol as he turned to his brother. "The contract is reacting to something," said Sungyeol as he got to his feet. Daeyeol blinked, getting up and following Sungyeol to where Youngtaek was.
 

~

"What the hell is that," Bomin said, a shiver going down his spine. "What's wrong?" Asked Yunho as he turned to Bomin. "I sense another nine tailed fox, and this one is pretty powerful," said Bomin as he turned in the direction he was feeling the power coming from.

Even Gunmin couldn't hold completely still as he shivered, catching Hwanhee's attention. "Whoever it is, it's affecting Gunmin," said Hwanhee. "Where the hell is Youngtaek?" Asked Bomin as he went towards the origin of the pulse of power. Yunho, Gunmin and Hwanhee followed after him.
 

~

Youngtaek needed to resist. He had to resist the never ending urge to submit for as long as possible, he was sure the others were coming for him soon. Wherever they were anyway.

Jacob smirked as he pretty much pinned Youngtaek against the wall. "Well well," he hummed. "I'm not gonna hurt you kit, I'm just trying to get my little brother out of hiding," he said. "Y-You," said Youngtaek as he tried not to slide to the ground. "What the hell do you want?" He asked, composing himself as he felt the power going away.

"To finish what I started," said Jacob as he turned around, spotting Daeyeol and Sungyeol as they walked up to him. "It's the human my brother saved," he said, scoffing at Daeyeol.

"Who are you?" Asked Daeyeol, keeping a dominant stance as Jacob directed the force of his power on them. Only Sungyeol seemed to be affected, as said person shivered under the weight of a fox's power.

"My name's Jacob, I'm the only person you haven't met yet in Ace's coven," said Jacob as Bomin and the others ran into view.

"You can back off now," growled Bomin as he walked up to Jacob. "And why should I listen to you hm? Father always favored you over me," spat Jacob as he turned to Bomin. Bomin scoffed. "I wasn't the problem child, at least I used my power for good," he said.

"I wasn't the one who incurred the wrath of the humans when you decided to meddle in their affairs," said Jacob. "I didn't burn down an entire village because they didn't get their way," growled Bomin. "They deserved it," spat Jacob.